Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 345th day of the year. There are 20 days remaining in 2017.

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 345th day of the year. There are 20 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 22 days until candidates can declare their intent to gather signatures for the 2018 election (1/2/2018)
• 42 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 87 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 88 days until the filing period for candidates in the 2018 election opens (3/9/2018)
• 94 days until the filing deadline for the 2018 elections (3/15/2018)
• 99 days until the statewide caucus meetings for Utah Republicans and Democrats (3/20/2018)
• 131 days until the GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 197 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 330 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,058 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• POLL: 51% of Utahns think the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia during the 2016 election [Utah Policy].
   
• President Donald Trump's allies are ready to ramp up their attacks on Mitt Romney if he decides to run for Senate in 2018 [Utah Policy].
   
• A Canadian uranium mining firm lobbied the Trump administration to reduce the size of the Bears Ears National Monument [Utah Policy].
   
• Our "Political Insiders" are sharply divided along partisan lines over whether President Trump's changes to two national monuments in Utah will withstand a court challenge [Utah Policy].
   
• Is Sen. Orrin Hatch really preparing to run for an eighth term in 2018? [Deseret News]
   
• There have been five lawsuits (so far) filed against President Trump's decision to reduce two national monuments in Utah. Who will win those legal actions? [Washington Post]
   
• President Donald Trump is not creating many fans among the Native American population with some of his decisions since he took office [Tribune].
   
• The Utah County Republican Party sets January 9th for the special election to replace Rep. Dean Sanpei [Daily Herald].
   
• The calls for embattled Utah County Commissioner Greg Graves to resign are growing louder [Deseret News].
   
• Black Lives Matter is working to open a chapter in Utah County [Daily Herald].

National headlines:

• BREAKING MONDAY MORNING: A device exploded at the entrance to the Port Authority bus terminal near Times Square in New York City [New York Post].
   
• Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore appeared on a conspiracy-mongering radio show in 2011 where he said many of the problems in America could be solved by eliminating constitutional amendments after the Tenth [CNN].
   
• Republicans are choosing speed over diligence as they rush to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions [Washington Post].
   
• The Senate's tax bill could impose a marginal tax rate on some business owners of more than 100%. Lawmakers are working to change that [Wall Street Journal].
   
• The last time Congress cut taxes on the middle class, most of them didn't notice it. Will they notice a tax cut this time around? [Bloomberg]
   
• The White House is targeting January to begin the push to sell President Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure overhaul [Wall Street Journal].
   
• Following Senator Al Franken's decision to resign in the wake of multiple women alleging he sexually harassed them, three Senators have called on President Donald Trump to resign [Washington Post].
   
• Special counsel Robert Muller is reportedly trying to piece together what happened during the time in the White House before former national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired on Feb. 13 [NBC News].
   
• President Donald Trump reportedly watches between four and eight hours of TV daily and consumes up to a dozen cans of Diet Coke [New York Times].
   
• President Donald Trump and conservatives have been blasting several media outlets for errors in their reporting [The Hill].
   
• President Donald Trump is taking credit for killing hundreds of federal regulations that were actually eliminated before Trump took office [Bloomberg].
   
• Alabama GOP Senator Richard Shelby refuses to vote for fellow Republican Roy Moore [CNN].
   
• The wildfires in California are burning an area larger than New York City and Boston combined [CNN].

On this day in history:

• 1792 - King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
   
• 1815 - The U.S. Senate creates a select committee on finance and a uniform national currency, predecessor of the Senate Committee on Finance.
   
• 1816 - Indiana becomes the 19th state.
   
• 1941 - Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. In turn, the U.S. declares war on those countries.
   
• 1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the moon.
   
• 2008 - Bernie Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Today At Utah Policy

51% of Utahns say Trump's campaign didn't collude with Russians during the 2016 election
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
By a bare majority, most Utahns don't believe GOP President Donald Trump nor his campaign "colluded" with Russia in the 2016 presidential election, a new UtahPolicy.com poll finds....

Will Trump's monument changes stand? Our 'Political Insiders' weigh in
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Last week President Donald Trump visited Utah to announce he was slashing millions of acres from two national monuments established by Presidents Obama and Clinton. In response, tribal and environmental groups filed lawsuits to block the changes. ...

Trump allies ready to declare war on Romney
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
President Donald Trump's visit to Utah was not only about public lands, it was specifically designed to convince Sen. Orrin Hatch to run for another term in 2018 and to keep Mitt Romney out of the race....

Report: Uranium mining firm lobbied for Bears Ears reductions
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Utah Republicans have repeatedly said that mineral extraction considerations played no role in the decision to reduce the size of the Bears Ears National Monument. Government documents appear to contradict that claim....

Policy News

WTC Utah releases Q3 export report
World Trade Center Utah just released its Export Report for the third quarter of 2017 and overall, Utah exports experienced a slight increase compared to Q3 2016....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Cannabis oil has given Utah children a chance at a normal life

Op-ed: Expanding Trax would connect Utahns, draw new talent to the state and help solve poor air quality

Op-ed: The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.

Paul Mero: It's time to fight poverty the 'Utah way'

Editorial: Greg Graves should resign

Popular sites have been removed from monument protection at former Grand Staircase-Escalante

Scientists decry Trump's move to strip fossil treasures from Utah's Grand Staircase monument

Here's a breakdown of the 5 lawsuits filed against Trump that challenge his cuts to 2 Utah national monuments

Deseret News

Frank R. Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb: Cleaning up after Trump's monumental visit to Utah

Op-ed: Systematic review of monument designations is an important check on unilateral power

Op-ed: The Colorado baker case - Is there an easy solution?

Op-ed: Utah should protect the right to work

Op-ed: The need for variety in a student's education

Editorial: Utah can do more to help students find solid STEM footing

Board member questions $10,000 'secret' hikes at Bears Ears

Pressure mounts on embattled Utah County commissioner to resign

Jury finds Salt Lake Comic Con, its founders violated trademark

Families concerned about special ed teacher without special training, license

Waiting for Hatch: Is he indecisive or keeping foes at bay?

Report: One-night count of Utah's homeless yields slightly higher total compared to last year

Other

Editorial: Increased transparency in filling vacancies in elected positions will better serve residents (Daily Herald)

UCRP announces filing period for candidates to replace resigning Dean Sanpei (Daily Herald)

Work hard, then work harder: Entrepreneur Latinos in Ogden (Standard-Examiner)

Save Our Canyons reaches out to Park City community (Park Record)

National Headlines

The media's Russia probe meltdown: 3 screw-ups in one week (Axios)

'Stain on America!' Trump denounces 'Fake News Media' after string of major reporting errors exposed (FOX News)

Trump Wants Washington Post Reporter Fired Over Misleading Tweet (New York Times)

Media mistakes intensify debate over 'fake news' (The Hill)

Robert Mueller's 'pit bull' is coming under intense scrutiny over perceived anti-Trump bias (Business Insider)

Trump Teaches Palestinians About the New Middle East (Bloomberg)

Americans Give Trump Higher Grades on Economy Than Overall (Wall Street Journal)

FBI email: Sessions wasn't required to disclose foreign contacts for security clearance (CNN)

Gillibrand is subject of debate over Franken, Clinton (The Hill)

Hospital Giants in Talks to Merge to Create Nation's Largest Operator (Wall Street Journal)

A Fed Rate Increase Is Expected. But What Comes Next? (New York Times)

Wise Words

Opportunity

"The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes." Benjamin Disraeli
 

Lighter Side

Sheep

"Prince William said that Prince George just played a sheep in his school's nativity play. Which raises the question, how rich were the other kids that Prince George wound up playing a sheep?" Jimmy Fallon